Health and Social Care Quality: Standards, Strategies, and Barriers

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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................2
LO1........................................................................................................................................................3
ROLE OF STAKEHOLDERS IN RELATION TO QUALITY AND STANDARDS IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE
SETTINGS...............................................................................................................................................3
THE STAKEHOLDER’S LOOKOUT.........................................................................................................3
THE ROLE OF EXTERNAL AGENCIES IN SETTING AND MAINTAINING STANDARDS................................4
NICE...................................................................................................................................................5
KINGSFUND.......................................................................................................................................5
QUALITY MEASUREMENT FRAMEWORK...........................................................................................5
IMPACT OF POOR QUALITY AND STANDARDS IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE.......................................6
LO2........................................................................................................................................................7
STRATEGIES FOR ACHIEVING QUALITY IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE SERVICES...................................7
WAYS TO MEASURE QUALITY IN THE HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE.....................................................7
SETTING UP OF THE AIMS..............................................................................................................7
USING THE BEST METHODS OF TREATMENT.................................................................................7
PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT...................................................................................................7
APPROACHES TO IMPLEMENT THE QUALITY SYSTEM.......................................................................8
INTRODUCING VARIOUS POLICIES.................................................................................................8
SETTING UP OF NEW AIMS............................................................................................................8
ACCEPTANCE TOWARDS CHANGE.................................................................................................8
COMMUNICATION SKILLS..............................................................................................................8
CO-ORDINATION AND EVALUATION..............................................................................................8
BARRIERS IN THE DELIVERY OF QUALITY HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE SERVICES................................9
EFFECTIVENESS OF SYSTEMS, QUALITIES AND PROCEDURES IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE SERVICES
.............................................................................................................................................................10
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE QUALITY OF HSC...........................................................................10
WAYS WHICH IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE SERVICES............................11
METHODS TO EVALUATE QUALITY OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE SERVICES......................................12
CONTRIBUTION OF SERVICE USERS IN EVALUATING THE QUALITY.................................................12
METHODS FOR EVALUATING HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE SERVICE PROVISION...............................13
CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................15
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INTRODUCTION
The health and social care sector mainly focus on the quality of all the services provided and
the social services. They deal with the lives of patients and so it is their responsibility to
maintain good standards and good quality of services (Chan, Y.F.et al., 2010). If this is not
checked then there might be some issues with the stakeholders in believing in the name of
services. Everyone desires to be successful but in order to be successful, it is necessary that
effective team and efficient workers are there. This will help them achieve their desired
goal. For advancing the technological aspect of the team it is necessary that some factors
are taken care of. The factors are mandatory in setting up the standards. Many procedures
and legal acts have been made to check the working of these bodies (Betancourt et al.,
2005). The bodies governing the field of health and social care have mentioned the main
aim of setting up of this service is to create a good relationship with the local people and to
acquaint them with best possible services when in need. For the body to work properly it is
necessary that the employee is self-satisfied, the stakeholder is happy with the services,
newer technology is used and the manual work is decreased so that everyone feels less
burden in the premises. This will automatically create a good rapport between the
stakeholder, employee and the management. This trial will be happy enough among their
own boundaries and hence will automatically generate good quality health and social care
services. The stakeholder feels it good when the service provider tells him/her every minute
detail about the disease, treatment procedure, etc. This will create a feeling of trust in the
patient's mind (Chan, Y.F.et al., 2010). This will help in getting good results from the
patients.Other than this there are various other factors which help in improving the quality
of health and social care services.
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LO1
ROLE OF STAKEHOLDERS IN RELATION TO QUALITY AND STANDARDS
IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE SETTINGS
The stakeholder is the prime member in the health and social care setting and every
stakeholder has a different point of view for the health and social services. For example,
some people think that the behavior of staff should be good whereas others think that the
quality depends on the name of the hospital (Betancourt et al., 2005). So these things vary
according to the individual. Everyone has their primary needs which they think should be
fulfilled on a priority basis. Suppose some find it difficult to go to the toilet independently so
they want that to be done first because everyone wants their privacy to be maintained.
Whereas on the other hand other one wants to go out for a morning walk, so they should be
treated accordingly (Bhui et al.,2007). The plan of action is made as per the patient’s will.
But this does not mean that the whole protocol is set according to the patient, the things
which the doctor and staff think should be done first for the betterment of the patient will
be done first and then the patient’s preference is asked for.
THE STAKEHOLDER’S LOOKOUT
The stakeholder sees the health care providing institutes as the health care center where
he/she can cure himself/herself to cure the disease or any other medical illness. The
stakeholders have various mindsets for the working of the institutes (Bhui et al., 2007).
Every stakeholder wants to get cent percent of the benefits from the health care institute
and also wants to go home as early as possible. But in this, the stakeholder forgets that
there are other people also who are there in the setup for their treatment. It is not
applicable to force the team always to look after them only.
The team has to equally take care of all the patients present over there (Arrieta et al 2011).
If not done so then the patients would start complaining about the services and this will lead
to a decline in the management of the staff and will compromise the quality of the institute.
So it is important for all the stakeholders to be patient and also let the staff do their work.
The staff should not be disturbed every now and then and the stakeholders should also
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understand the criticality of the situation (Brett et al., 2014). The stakeholders are the
backbone of any institution and they should be treated properly because their reviews also
matter. If the review given by the patient is not good then the reputation of the institution is
questioned.
Also, it is the responsibility of the staff to understand their duties properly and work
according to the tasks assigned to them and the deadlines of the tasks must not be missed.
For an instance, if the cleaning department is assigned a particular task of cleaning the ward
within the required date, if that is not done within the due date then it may affect the
inspection results and ratings of the institution (Betancourt et al., 2015).
THE ROLE OF EXTERNAL AGENCIES IN SETTING AND MAINTAINING
STANDARDS
The external agencies have an important role in maintaining the standards of the health and
social care sectors. These bodies are needed to maintain the scheduled guidelines of the
agencies. The higher authorities set up different guidelines for the smooth working of the
health care setups and these guidelines have various norms and protocols to be followed so
that in the whole country a similar way of treatment is used. These agencies create
uniformity in national health and social care setups (Jeffares, Sullivan et al., 2013).
These agencies work with the team so that the whole team is well acquainted with every
nook and corner of the hospital. The team is taught all the emergency medical conditions
and their symptoms. The team is taught the general procedure of cardiopulmonary
resuscitation so that in case of any serious medical emergency any of the team members
can help revive the patient and thus can save a life. The staff is taught the technical part of
the hospital very well so that they can handle all the monitors, lines, machines, etc in case of
absence of the senior staff. These things are set up by the external agencies so that the life
of the patient is saved in the absence of some senior in charge staff. Or in case the staff is
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busy with some other patient and there is no time for the doctor to reach the patient, the
other staff member can go and handle the situation (Van Dooren et al 2015)
NICE
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence is the national body which governs the health
policies set up the other higher authorities and also keeps a check on the working policies of
the hospitals(Elwyn et al., 2006).
The institution keeps regular meeting with the hospital authorities to understand the
situation and give them suggestions about the working methods and what all extra things
should be implemented to bring improvement.
It also keeps meetings with the staff to share the latest technological advancements and the
latest machines in the market to save the time of the staff and get accurate results. For
example, the glucometer is used nowadays to keep a check on the diabetes of a person,
earlier the staff used to extract the blood sample from the body and send it to the lab and
then they used to wait for the results. This glucometer has nowadays saved a lot of time and
energy of the staff.
The NICE also provides time to time suggestions for the institute to make required changes
in the system (Elwyn et al., 2006).
KINGSFUND
1. Kings fund is an another health and social care body in England which held regular
conferences, seminars on the health and social care system of the nation. They
target small charity groups who help people getting better and reward them with
some prizes. It was set up earlier to help the voluntary hospitals of London. It later
started to conduct inspections to check whether all the things are done according to
the norms or not. Afterward, the NHS was created and this institution was made a
thinking body which now thinks upon all the aspects and takes decisions ( "The King's
Fund Leadership Conference". Department of Health. Retrieved 19 April 2019.).
QUALITY MEASUREMENT FRAMEWORK
The quality is measured by the various questionnaires, feedback forms and also the mouth
publicity done by the institution. The stakeholder will generate positive feedback if they are
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satisfied with the services and the negative oneif they are not content with the services. The
quality of the institute must not be compromised in any case.
IMPACT OF POOR QUALITY AND STANDARDS IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL
CARE
The poor quality of the system is of great concern because if the institute is not giving the
services according to the patient and patient’s family needs then they would develop a
feeling of disrespect for the institute (Brignall& Modell., 2000). The institute's name will also
go down. The Institute if does not take the required amount for the treatment of the patient
then it is sure that they will have to compromise with the quality of the treatment because
the staff is not paid enough by the institute and so they will not give their hundred percent
towards the work. This will force the staff to move to some other place for work and the
reduction in the number of staff will again hamper the quality of care.
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LO2
STRATEGIES FOR ACHIEVING QUALITY IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE
SERVICES
WAYS TO MEASURE QUALITY IN THE HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE
The benchmark is already set up by the higher organizations, now it is the duty of the staff
of that particular institute to take care of the quality of services provided. The quality can be
measured by checking the number of people entering the hospital per day. For example, the
regular O.P.D. used to be of 60-65 patients per day and now it has been reduced to 40-50
patients. This proves that there has been something wrong in the management of the staff
and services provided which led to a decrease in the out-patient department in the hospital
(Stensaker, B., et al 2010).
Following ways can be used to measure the quality of the health and social care sector:
SETTING UP OF THE AIMS
The institutes working on quality management should set some higher institutions as their
aims so that they can keep a regular check over the progress of their institutions.
USING THE BEST METHODS OF TREATMENT
By using the latest technologies and services the institution maintains the accuracy of the
treatment and also saves the time of the stakeholder as well as the staff (Bovaird, T. and
Löffler, E., 2003). This will lead to an increase in the quality of care provided because the
patient would get better in a very few days due to early and precise diagnosis of the
condition.
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PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT
The performance of the staff should be measured on a regular basis which will give an idea
of how everyone is working and what all things need to be improved. Sometimes the
patients are asked for the behavior of a particular staff member and then that person is
reviewed accordingly (Harvey, L. and Green, D et al). This creates a healthy competition
among the members and helps in providing better quality treatment.
APPROACHES TO IMPLEMENT THE QUALITY SYSTEM
The quality is achieved only when the older methods are amended by the newer and recent
ones. Various researches say that the older methods of treatment were for the diseases of
the olden times, nowadays different types of health issues have emerged and for that, the
recent advancements must be used (Amin et al 2013). This would help me maintain the
quality of the system.
The approaches mentioned below can be used to gain maximum benefit from the system:
INTRODUCING VARIOUS POLICIES
Newer policies are made to meet the needs of the stakeholder as well as the staff both. The
policies are made by keeping in mind the benefits of both so it is good if the newly launched
policies are followed for the betterment of the institute and the patient.
SETTING UP OF NEW AIMS
The goals are made according to the needs and preferences of the patient. If the team
works according to the will and wish of the patient will feel happy and would generate
better review for the hospital. The newer aims will set a horizon for the team and they will
also not feel bored with the older protocols. Hence they will have enthusiasm in them
towards work (Starfield et al., 2005).
ACCEPTANCE TOWARDS CHANGE
Everyone in the staff must be counseled so that they are not rigid for the older treatment
protocols and are smart enough to follow the newer guidelines and flexible enough to adapt
to the changes acquired.
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COMMUNICATION SKILLS
The staff should have good communication skills for counseling the patients. As some
patients are moody, shy, etc so they do not easily open up with the staff. The staff should be
smart enough to tackle such patients.
CO-ORDINATION AND EVALUATION
The staff must coordinate properly with each other and also should be ready to evaluate the
condition. The co-ordinating skills will help the staff reduce the burden from one another
and do the job properly (Gruber et al 2010).
BARRIERS IN THE DELIVERY OF QUALITY HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE
SERVICES
Any institute which is growing faces the barriers in its progress. Barriers are mandatory in
the growth of the particular institution. The staff needs to be prepared for these hindrances.
These barriers create a sense of demotivation among the employees and prevent them from
acquiring those changes (Brett et al 2014). Sometimes the staff opposes the changes being
implemented because they have to go on for various training sessions which they do not like
and oppose it. Other barriers are the technological advancements which may not be
achieved due to the budget of the setup. Non-cooperation among the staff and also lack of
communication between the members are some of the other barriers which hinder the
quality of health and social care services (Bhui et al., 2007).
9

LO3
EFFECTIVENESS OF SYSTEMS, QUALITIES AND PROCEDURES IN
HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE SERVICES
The system and quality is the hand in hand process. If the quality is not good it means there
is something wrong in the system which is not taking care of the policies and procedures
implemented by the higher officials. And if the quality is up to the mark it means that
certain amendments are made in the system according to the norms set by the higher
officials (Stenhagen et al 2014). The effectiveness of following all the policies is seen that the
institutes are on the verge of growth. The new policies are made by keeping in mind the
stakeholders and the staff so that no one feels that they are exploited.
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE QUALITY OF HSC
Various factors are found to be affecting the quality of health and social care services. The
staff should be properly trained for the documentation, record keeping, maintaining the
files, etc of the patients (Pasqualini Blass et al 2016). The staff should have all the technical
knowledge of the systems and software so that they can use it anytime anywhere without
any difficulty. The cleanliness records and proper maintenance of the instruments and other
types of equipment should be done regularly to keep a check on the efficiency of the
system. These are the major things which contribute to the quality of health and social care
sector.
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WAYS WHICH IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE
SERVICES
For improving the quality of health and social care services following ways can be used:
 The criterion for the standards should be reduced in the beginning so that it is not
difficult for the beginner institutes to follow them.
 Setting up some short term and long term goals will also help get better results for
the patients.
 The newest and safest reviewed methods of practice should be used to gain
maximum benefits.
 Legal approaches set by the higher authorities are made in the interest of the staff
and stakeholders. These should be followed to improve the quality.
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LO4
METHODS TO EVALUATE QUALITY OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE
SERVICES
CONTRIBUTION OF SERVICE USERS IN EVALUATING THE QUALITY
The service users are the people who review the quality of some institution. They relate it
with some past experience if any and if not they compare it with others' views. They help in
generating feedback on the services provided (Elwyn et al 2006).If the stakeholder is happy
with the services then he/she will give a good review to others and if he/she feels that some
important thing is lacking then will review it with the average grade.
Therefore the users are the key for any institution’s grading. So it is important to make them
happy and satisfied (Franic et al 2012). All the queries of the stakeholder must be resolved
and they should be clearly told about the prognosis of the disease that whether they can be
cured totally or partially. This creates transparency and trust among the stakeholder and the
institute (Chan et al 2010).
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